_neshem_, of which the column is made, is a very hard stone, which is
proof against any injury.
⁂⁂ or ⁂⁂, which I translated “crush,” means probably “grind
to powder,” and ⁂⁂, “to receive a cut,” means to be scratched or
incised by a sculptor’s tool. The power of the amulet consists in making
the body of the deceased as hard as _neshem_.